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How Can I Increase my Home's Water Pressure?

08-20-2009, 07:33 PM

Our house is close to 30 years old and we use well water. The water pressure has always been pretty low but it seems to be getting worse. We still get water so I assume the well pump is OK. Could the pump in the house be failing? Is it repairable or does it need to be replaced?

Our house is close to 30 years old and we use well water. The water pressure has always been pretty low but it seems to be getting worse. We still get water so I assume the well pump is OK. Could the pump in the house be failing? Is it repairable or does it need to be replaced?

Can you check the pressure at the well (pressure tank) and then at the house, if pressure tank is not in the house? (water running some where),

If you run a trickle of water is the pressure the same as if your running a reasonable flow of water?

have you cleaned out the aerators on the faucets or replaced?

the normal pressure switch is set for either 40/60 or 30/50, yes they may be different but I think those are the normal settings, the lower is the start of the pump and the higher is the shut off pressure,

I would think if the pump is wearing out it would fail to reach the high pressure and just continue to run and not cycle,

Push sticks/blocks Save Fingers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
attributed to Samuel Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PUBLIC NOTICE: Due to recent budget cuts, the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil...plus the current state of the economy............the light at the end of the tunnel, has been turned off.

Comment

I'm no well expert, but didn't you state:"We still get water so I assume the well pump is OK. Could the pump in the house be failing?" This sounds like you have two pumps, one at the well, and one in the house. I'm certainly not familiar with that set-up, so will someone clarify this? Thanks, David

Comment

I'm not quite sure how to answer since I don't really know how the system really works. There is a well and I have to assume that there's a pump in the well to get the water out since it looks like there's power to the well head. In the lower level of my bi-level there's another pump with a small tank (a few gallons?) that turns on when the water's been run for a little while. This is what I think provides the pressure in the house. It's after this pump that the water for the house can be turned off.

I'm not sure how this second pump works. Is there a pressure regulator on it that can be adjusted? Is there some sort of bladder in it that could be failing? Perhaps it's time to get someone in to look at it.

It sounds to me like you need to get some one there that understands the system and can make recommendations on site, and that way you will known what your options are?

Push sticks/blocks Save Fingers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
attributed to Samuel Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PUBLIC NOTICE: Due to recent budget cuts, the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil...plus the current state of the economy............the light at the end of the tunnel, has been turned off.

I think first you may want to look at whether you are having a pressure problem or a volume problem. Try to buy an inexpensive pressure gauge that screws on to a hose bib and tell us what your pressure is.

Mark

"Somewhere a Village is Missing Twelve Idiots!" - Casey Anthony

I never lost a cent on the jobs I didn't get!

Comment

I've lived with well water for a number of years, so I'd like to offer my two cents. Do you check to see if your water tank is air bound? Have you had a pro come in and check the well for flow rate, or volume? Have your water needs increased, in other words do you run other appliances that you did not have in the past such as dishwasher, extra washing machines? This should not be a difficult problem to diagnose and fix unless the well is drying up.